Cavaliers shed frustration, work past Williams for victory

By Conor O'Neill / Times-News

Published: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 01:31 AM.

The Cavaliers’ game also consists of sturdy defense, at least in its first two games. After holding Western Alamance to 40 points earlier this week, Cummings has flexed its muscle on the defensive end.

“We’re used to being a great help-side defensive team,” Smith said. “As you could see, Josh … with the blocks, we rely on each other on the defensive end.”

lCummings was without forward Will Richardson, who tore the meniscus in his left knee. He said he will learn next week if he needs surgery and hopes to return for the Cavaliers in 3-4 weeks.

After being frustrated by a packed-in zone defense, Cummings High School entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead.

In that final quarter, finally, a couple shots fell and the visiting Cavaliers continued a suffocating defensive effort to pull ahead for a 53-41 boys’ basketball victory on Friday night.

“They just weren’t falling and (Williams) had a good zone collapse on (center Josh Murray) so we couldn’t get inside,” Cummings guard Tevin Smith said.

Smith led Cummings (2-0) with a game-high 17 points and three steals. Murray scored 11 points — including a pair of monster two-hand dunks — and also owned the paint on the defensive end with 11 blocked shots.

Desmond Satterfield drained a pair of 3-pointers in the final quarter to propel Cummings, which only hit two 3s in the first three quarters.

“They do a really good job playing that zone,” Cummings coach Chas Criss said. “I think our kids started to press some too when we couldn’t make a basket. Score was tight, you start maybe trying to do too much.”

Much of the Cavaliers’ shooting troubles were attributable to the 3-2 zone applied by Williams coach Ryan Freeman. Active and constantly moving, the Bulldogs stifled Cummings’ shooters for most of the night.

“That’s the best I think we’ve played it all season,” Freeman said of the zone. “The kids really worked their tales off to get better at it and they made big strides (Friday night).”

But the Bulldogs committed six turnovers in the fourth quarter, while outscored by the Cavaliers 16-7.

“I think we were in it the whole game minus about six possessions. You’ve got to give these kids credit, there’s a lot of new things being thrown at them,” Freeman said. “We’re going to be undersized every single game. But we showed a lot of fight … and think that’s what kept them in the game.”

The 12-point margin of victory was perhaps the most misleading number of the game, considering the game featured six ties and four lead changes. The largest lead of the game before the final four minutes was an eight-point Cummings lead in the first quarter, which evaporated when Williams closed the quarter on a 7-0 run.

The Cavaliers applied full-court pressure after the first quarter, which was successful in forcing a handful of turnovers.

“It sped them up, and they’re more of a half-court team,” Smith said. “We got a bunch of turnovers, played our game. We like to run.”

The Cavaliers’ game also consists of sturdy defense, at least in its first two games. After holding Western Alamance to 40 points earlier this week, Cummings has flexed its muscle on the defensive end.

“We’re used to being a great help-side defensive team,” Smith said. “As you could see, Josh … with the blocks, we rely on each other on the defensive end.”

lCummings was without forward Will Richardson, who tore the meniscus in his left knee. He said he will learn next week if he needs surgery and hopes to return for the Cavaliers in 3-4 weeks.